Established in 2014 by the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in new concert music.
Artists and arts organizations across the country often lack the extensive resources and time they require to develop compelling work – work that is ambitious, innovative and fully realized. As part of the Azrieli Foundation’s strategic vision, we hope to remedy this situation through our investment in The National Creation Fund. The Fund invests up to $3 million per year in the development of 15 to 20 compelling and ambitious new Canadian works in theatre, dance and music.
Since 1978, Domaine Forget has dedicated itself to training promising young musicians through its internationally recognized Summer Academy. As it approaches its 40th anniversary, Domaine Forget seeks to ensure sustainable growth and to secure its future through the Creators of Talent campaign. The Foundation supports this vision through the creation of The Azrieli Artistic Development Fund, the proceeds from which will help develop new artistic training programs, support existing musical training programs, and keep the Summer Academy affordable to the most promising musicians.
CICF partners with the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) to offer a range of programming that advances artistic life in Israel and showcases Israeli culture in Canada across a wide range of disciplines. The work of CICF and AICF lies in encouraging artistic excellence, especially among emerging and early career artists.
The seven agricultural communities of Israel’s Central Arava Region identified music as a key cultural element to build community, bring people together and provide an active, therapeutic, cultural outlet. In 2014, the Rosenthal Arava Music Center was inaugurated, housing a regional music program led by ten professional teachers in cooperation with local volunteers. By providing musical instruments and scholarships for music lessons, the Center helps to ensure that the Region is rich in arts, culture and desirable educational programming that enlivens its communities.
The Room 217 Foundation is using music to change the culture of care for the elderly. By treating music as a primary approach to care, Room 217 not only develops programs but also educates caregivers on the effective integration of music into care.
Toronto Community Music Education Strategy
In Toronto, the Azrieli Foundation is supporting a number of community groups that are working to reduce the gap in music education for low-income youth.
The Dixon Hall Music School provides geared-to-income music lessons and a comprehensive, year-round program.
The Hammer Band is working to inhibit all forms of violence by providing opportunities to play and learn music individually and collaboratively.
The Regent Park School of Music works with low-income and high-risk youth, including youth in the criminal justice system.
Finally, Sistema Toronto provides long-term music programming in a supportive, safe, and socially enriching environment.
All of these organizations work towards the common goal of encouraging success in youth through music and breaking the cycle of generational poverty.
Sulamot, meaning both a ladder and a musical scale in Hebrew, is an innovative and inspiring music education program for children at-risk in Israel. By providing opportunities for these children to engage in meaningful music learning experiences – all within a patient, generous, and compassionate environment – Sulamot helps instill in them a sense of pride, belonging and hope.
The Quebec Regional Orchestra Strategy unites symphony orchestras with a similar goal. With the strong belief that orchestras make meaningful and sustainable impacts on the quality of life in the communities they serve, this strategy provides communities with access to orchestral music in all of its forms and genres.
We are proud to cultivate and help grow artistic talent in Canada and in Israel.
Berlin-born Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon gave nearly 800 paintings to a local physician just before she was deported to Auschwitz, and her magnum opus survived to tell the story of a young woman coming of age during the rise of Nazism. This production of Charlotte: A Tri-Coloured Play with Music was the first time the play was performed as a “singspiel” (a play with music) which was the form originally intended by the author.
The Ashkenaz Festival, held in Toronto, is one of the largest and most prestigious showcases of Jewish music and culture in the world. The biennial festival is an eclectic showcase of global Jewish art and culture, and attracts a large multicultural audience. It has a multidisciplinary focus – mainly music, but the festival also features dance, theatre, film, literature and talk, visual arts, and kids and family programs.
The Azrieli Foundation was proud to support the Tel Aviv tour of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in February 2019. In addition, the National Centre for Dance Therapy, a division of Les Grands Ballets, hosted a panel discussion at the Canadian Embassy on approaches to dance therapy in Israel and Quebec, highlighting similarities, differences, and encouraging partnerships between the two countries.
Photo credit: Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal
The Musée d’ art contemporain de Montréal’s record-breaking exhibit has seen 350,000 visitors since its inception in 2017. Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything is a major exhibition which features 20 contemporary artworks by 40 international artists, and is entirely devoted to the life and legacy of Leonard Cohen. It is currently on display at the Jewish Museum in New York and will continue on to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The Montreal museum is strengthening its presence on the international art scene, while promoting Montreal and Canadian artists.
Photo credit: Hadassah Academic College
Hadassah Academic College aspires to set the standard of excellence for career-focused academic learning in Israel, exemplifying the strength of a diverse, inclusive, urban general college, transforming lives and communities through learning and cultural programming. Recent growth in student enrollment invited an expansion of Hadassah’s historic downtown Jerusalem campus, including the creation of a new public gallery. This cultural gateway is designed to exhibit work by the city’s artistic community as well as the College’s photography and industrial design students. Its cultural contribution also reinforces the revitalization of the Jerusalem’s downtown core.
Photo credit: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Chagall: Colour and Music was the largest Canadian exhibition devoted to artist Marc Chagall. Featuring 340 works of art and a large selection of documentary works, including films, photographs and musical excerpts, this multidisciplinary exhibition is the first to focus on Chagall’s profound connection to music in his life and work.
Photo credit: Israel Museum
The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day, in its Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Jewish Art and Life Wings, and features the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world.
It is an honour for the Azrieli Foundation to provide ongoing support to the following organizations that continue to foster and elevate musicians and artists around the world.
By supporting classical music competitions, the Azrieli Foundation is instrumental in launching outstanding emerging artists on their professional journeys.
